THOMPSON, blog.
THOMPSON, blog. - Marvel at the mental contortions of our self-imagined betters.

Slide THOMPSON, blog Poking the pathology since 2007
  • thompson, blog
  • Reheated
  • X
  • Email
Browsing Category
Archive
Anthropology Pronouns Or Else

When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are

August 17, 2026 32 Comments

From the pages of Metro, where Ms Rachel Meghan is talking about herself:

“I’m non-binary,” I told a neighbour. We were at a barbecue and talking about queerness. I went on to explain that although my pronouns are they/she and ‘she’ is acceptable, I much prefer ‘they’.

The barbecue is in Hell. Did I mention that?

“That’s cool,” my neighbour replied, adding, “My daughter is also non-binary.”

Or, “I have badges too,” she said.

I felt accepted – but then, just seconds later, that same person yelled to their partner at the grill: “She said she wanted a hamburger!”

Oh calamity. All that specialness – dashed to pieces.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened; far from it – which is why I reluctantly continue to offer up ‘she’ as a pronoun. It’s exhausting having to constantly correct people…

And yet correcting people – constantly – attempting to make them mouth absurdities, remains a go-to impulse. An irresistible temptation. Despite those claims of exhaustion. Funny, that. Whether other parties might be fatigued by this habit is, alas, not explored.

Throw the fact that I’m a mother into the mix and people basically consider it permission to see me as a woman

Well, given observable reality, that will happen.

“Everything came to a head after I became a mother,” says she. Pretensions of themness, the craving to seem special – perhaps more special than one is – would, I suppose become harder to sustain. Given the arrival of someone more important, someone whose needs tend to come first.

I never saw myself as a mum when I was younger, just because I didn’t think I’d ever be in a long-term relationship.

That’s the spirit.

I always thought I was too weird to date.

Not sure whether that’s a fear or an aspiration.

My husband and I got married in 2020, and I became pregnant in 2023.

As women so often do.

My anatomy allows me to be pregnant, no matter how I identify, it’s just how my body works.

Specifically, a woman’s body.

But I’m also a spiritual person,

As, like, totally spiritual people feel compelled to say.

So, becoming a mum gave me a new confidence and a fresh level of knowing myself.

A spirituality of self. How terribly innovative.

After my maternity leave, I worked at a very queer space, a bookstore and bar, where I was surrounded by the LGBTQ+ community. It was here I really felt I’d found my people, and the words to describe myself.

Again, self. And repeated descriptions thereof.

I was still worried about having to correct others frequently; but eventually I decided it was more worth it to live as my truth. In 2025, I came out as genderqueer, then non-binary.

So many badges, and they’re all so shiny. Also, my truth.

My son is two now, and still too little to truly understand, but as he gets older I explain a little bit more here and there. I say, “Mummy isn’t a woman; they’re just Mummy.”

Better start saving for those counselling sessions.

My son even calls me ‘bubba’ instead of ‘mama’ most of the time – I didn’t instruct him to do that, I think he just clocked my queerness on his own.

As two-year-olds do, of course. I can hear those eyebrows raising from here.

The newer people in my life, like my co-workers and regulars at the bookstore, have no issues using they/them pronouns – but I’ve noticed that it’s a lot harder for people that have known me for a long time.

Having known the author as a girl and then as a woman, presumably. Not as some imaginary, unsexed being. One who’s had sex and consequently a child.

My husband – who had no problem with me coming out – sometimes struggles, but he makes a pointed effort to refer to me gender-neutrally.

Imagine the fun. All those corrections and self-corrections. All that pointed effort. The evenings must fly by.

However, one family member, while very leftist and accepting,

No laughing at the back.

finds it hard seeing me as anything but a woman. When I told them about my pronouns, they even went as far to say “What does it matter if you’re not in the room?”

How very dare they.

But of course it matters. It’s about how I want to be perceived by the world, and the people who love me should be supportive of that; wherever I am.

You see, in a sense, she’s always in the room, policing how her self is being perceived. On account of being so spiritual.

Update, via the comments:

What’s noteworthy, I think, is how closely these things follow a familiar, if unconvincing, pattern.

Say, the feeble, retrospective excuses for ongoing pretensions. Ms Meghan tells us of not wanting to get her nails done as a girl, and not wishing to straighten her hair, as if this were the very measure of things. Or the complaints of being exhausted by her own chosen contrivance, as if her attention-seeking were only being done reluctantly, as if she weren’t the author of it.

And the rather implausible claim of not influencing small children to make them mouth the expected absurdities. The demanded affirmation. In madam’s case, the claim that her two-year-old son “just clocked my queerness on his own,” unprompted, while simultaneously boasting of telling said two-year-old, “Mummy isn’t a woman.”

And of course the strange lack of concern for those on whom these tiresome dramas are being imposed. Including her own child.

Continue reading
Reading time: 5 min
Written by: David
Academia Anthropology

Lifeform Solidarity

August 15, 2026 75 Comments

Further to recent rumblings in the comments, I bring scenes of an immensely radical gardening project conjured into being in June 2020 by Seattle’s progressive-activist community:

https://t.co/ifrtXG4r0V pic.twitter.com/SVoqRie115

— President Dr RollerGator MVIP PhD (@drrollergator) August 13, 2026

More scenes of radical signage can be had here.

Footage of said radicalism, this wokeness that didn’t happen, is also available:

Don’t forget when the main character of the CHAZ entered pic.twitter.com/4Og0gCBGAg

— Skipbeat (@Skipxbeat) August 14, 2026

I know. You may want a moment to steady yourselves. What with all that deep political heft.

And because it bears repeating:

“As an Academic, I can pretend not to understand things at a level you cannot even imagine…” https://t.co/kQvZZeN3E4 pic.twitter.com/hnX7uUdqJW

— Conan, Summer Aesthete (@conan_esq) August 13, 2026

Readers who browse the comments of this blog – and by God, you should – will recall that Martha Lincoln, our associate professor, our fearless anthropologist – the one shutting down replies and retreating from any risk of correction – frames The Atlantic as right-wing.

For readers unfamiliar with this supposedly right-wing publication, allow me to share with you a few samples of its contents:

When women who are slightly black are oppressed by not being allowed to blast out loud hip-hop in the university library, where people are trying to study for exams.

When women are oppressed by crumbs.

When women, especially black women, are oppressed by crossword puzzles.

When black women who thieve habitually are the real victims.

I could of course go on, but we’d be here all day.

And hey, in academia, all things are possible.

Continue reading
Reading time: 1 min
Written by: David
Ephemera

Friday Ephemera (829)

August 14, 2026 101 Comments

Scenes. || Some optimistic ladies. || A mercifully brief history of dial-up modem handshakes. || Today’s words are job satisfaction. || On the thrill of bollards. || Sudden-onset sidewaysness. || All things considered, it was not a great date. || In case there were any doubt as to the kind of creature she is. || Whatever is to hand. || Xerox Hell, in which you ruin photos. || Now is not the best time. || Bear maintenance. || Moon suit, 1960. || Nostrils of Aquachap. || Nuff cuffs. || Incoming. || Incoming 2. || Question asked. || The situation did not improve. || On imitating pigs for fun and profit. || The progressive retail experience, parts 751, 752, 753 and 754. || Proles at home, 1962. || Unsuccessful product, 1982. || Astronaut training. || African snow. || Fearsome beast. || Oh, and meanwhile, in the woods.

To enable extra commenting options – including @username mentions, comment editing, upvotes, custom avatars, and live notifications – scroll down to the black ‘Meta’ box at the very bottom of the page and click register. It’s free and quite painless.

For additional rumblings, follow me on X.

Continue reading
Reading time: 1 min
Written by: David
Free-For-All Problematic Cycling

I Have Questions

August 13, 2026 51 Comments

I’m just going to leave this here:

If you’ve ever wondered why the cavalry often turns up late?
Fucking cyclists, it’s always fucking cyclists. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ImtA56jObt

— Myxy Jeff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@MadThom4PM) August 12, 2026

Consider this an open thread. Share ye links and bicker.

Continue reading
Reading time: 1 min
Written by: David
Academia Discourse Was Attempted

Discourse Was Attempted

August 11, 2026 105 Comments

Being educated, a graduate, she didn’t understand the question:

Woke reporter SHUTS DOWN my Interview when I expose her as a racist.

She says it is not possible to be racist toward white people. When I show her that simple logic disproves everything she is saying, she is forced to get up & end the conversation. pic.twitter.com/MC3CaCRhzf

— Warren Smith (@WTSmith17) August 10, 2026

“You can’t be racist against white people,” says she, confidently, having just demonstrated precisely the opposite, and then doing it again.

The facial dynamics may also be of interest.

Note madam’s insistence that racism only exists if it’s backed by “power,” the particulars of which remain somewhat unclear – a claim designed to give license to racial minorities and especially black people – pre-emptively and on an indefinite basis – when indulging in racist sentiment or behaviour.

When asked how she came to this perverse and non-reciprocal redefinition, she looks surprised, indeed incredulous. “I went to school,” says she. “I went to university.”

And so, we have an enthusiast of “equity,” a credentialled being, who’s “making sure the standards are the same” by making those standards wildly different, depending on the colour of your skin and therefore how oppressed you must be. Or conversely, how inclined you must be to crush others underfoot, on account of your pallor.

She’s a reporter, you know. Bodes well.

My own definition of “equity,” illustrated many, many times, would be something like equality of outcome regardless of inputs. Inputs including diligence, effort and ability. Which doesn’t sound fair at all.

But as we’ve seen, the church of “equity” requires elaborate mental contortion, via which, “granting access” entails denying access – say, by shutting down advanced courses for gifted pupils – and among devotees, “whiteness” is the go-to pejorative, a thing to be corrected, and for which the sinfully pale are expected to atone.

There’s a through-the-looking-glass quality.

A fun-house mirror malevolence that’s illustrated here.

Should further, real-world illustrations of “equity” be required, a compendium can be found here, including the outlawing of even basic tests of teacher competence, on grounds of “disparate impact,” and firefighters who cannot read the instructions on their own safety equipment.

Update:

Oh, and should any readers have assumed that the exchange above is some one-off aberration, there are other wonders to behold.

Needless to say, a pattern emerges.

Continue reading
Reading time: 1 min
Written by: David
Page 1 of 7341234»102030...Last »

Blog Preservation Fund




Subscribestar Amazon UK
Support this Blog
Donate via QR Code

RECENT POSTS

  • When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are
  • Lifeform Solidarity
  • Friday Ephemera (829)
  • I Have Questions
  • Discourse Was Attempted

Recent Comments

  • aelf on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 13:12
  • pst314 on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 12:49
  • Jamie MacMaster on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 12:23
  • Smallish Bees on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 11:51
  • David on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 11:17
  • Penseivat on Lifeform Solidarity Aug 17, 11:15
  • David on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 11:03
  • Penseivat on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 10:55
  • David on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 10:51
  • roaddog on When They Won’t Keep On Saying Just How Special You Are Aug 17, 10:43

SEARCH

Archives

Archive by year

Interesting Sites

Blogroll

Categories

  • Academia
  • Agonies of the Left
  • AI
  • And Then It Caught Fire
  • Anthropology
  • Architecture
  • Armed Forces
  • Arse-Chafing Tedium
  • Art
  • ASMR
  • Auto-Erotic Radicalism
  • Basking
  • Bees
  • Behold My Anus
  • Behold My Massive Breasts
  • Behold My Massive Lobes
  • Beware the Brown Rain
  • Big Hooped Earrings
  • Bionic Lingerie
  • Blogs
  • Books
  • Bra Drama
  • Bra Hygiene
  • Cannabis
  • Classic Sentences
  • Collective Toilet Management
  • Comics
  • Culture
  • Current Affairs
  • Dating Decisions
  • Dental Hygiene's Racial Subtext
  • Department of Irony
  • Dickensian Woes
  • Did You Not See My Earrings?
  • Discourse Was Attempted
  • Emotional Support Guinea Pigs
  • Emotional Support Water Bottles
  • Engineering
  • Ephemera
  • Erotic Pottery
  • Farmyard Erotica
  • Feats
  • Feminist Comedy
  • Feminist Dating
  • Feminist Fun Times
  • Feminist Poetry Slam
  • Feminist Pornography
  • Feminist Snow Ploughing
  • Feminist Witchcraft
  • Film
  • Food and Drink
  • Free-For-All
  • Games
  • Gardening's Racial Subtext
  • Gentrification
  • Giant Vaginas
  • Great Hustles of Our Time
  • Greatest Hits
  • Hair
  • His Pretty Nails
  • History
  • Housekeeping
  • Hubris Meets Nemesis
  • Ideas
  • If You Build It
  • Imagination Must Be Punished
  • Inadequate Towels
  • Indignant Replies
  • Interviews
  • Intimate Waxing
  • Juxtapositions
  • Media
  • Mischief
  • Modern Savagery
  • Music
  • Niche Pornography
  • Not Often Seen
  • Oppressive Towels
  • Oversharing
  • Parenting
  • Policing
  • Political Nipples
  • Politics
  • Postmodernism
  • Pregnancy
  • Presidential Genitals
  • Problematic Acceptance
  • Problematic Baby Bouncing
  • Problematic Bookshelves
  • Problematic Bra Marketing
  • Problematic Checkout Assistants
  • Problematic Civility
  • Problematic Cleaning
  • Problematic Coffee
  • Problematic Competence
  • Problematic Crosswords
  • Problematic Cycling
  • Problematic Drama
  • Problematic Fairness
  • Problematic Fitness
  • Problematic Furniture
  • Problematic Height
  • Problematic Monkeys
  • Problematic Motion
  • Problematic Neighbourliness
  • Problematic Ownership
  • Problematic Pallor
  • Problematic Parties
  • Problematic Pasta
  • Problematic Plumbers
  • Problematic Punctuality
  • Problematic Questions
  • Problematic Reproduction
  • Problematic Shoes
  • Problematic Taxidermy
  • Problematic Toilets
  • Problematic Walking
  • Problematic Wedding Photos
  • Pronouns Or Else
  • Psychodrama
  • Radical Bowel Movements
  • Radical Bra Abandonment
  • Radical Ceramics
  • Radical Dirt Relocation
  • Reheated
  • Religion
  • Reversed GIFs
  • Science
  • Shakedowns
  • Some Fraction Of A Sausage
  • Sports
  • Stalking Mishaps
  • Student Narcolepsy
  • Suburban Polygamist Ninjas
  • Suburbia
  • Technology
  • Television
  • The Deep Wisdom of Celebrities
  • The Genitals Of Tomorrow
  • The Gods, They Mock Us
  • The Great Outdoors
  • The Politics of Buttocks
  • The Thrill of Décor
  • The Thrill Of Endless Noise
  • The Thrill of Friction
  • The Thrill of Garbage
  • The Thrill Of Glitter
  • The Thrill of Hand Dryers
  • The Thrill of Medicine
  • The Thrill Of Powdered Cheese
  • The Thrill Of Seating
  • The Thrill Of Shopping
  • The Thrill Of Toes
  • The Thrill Of Unemployment
  • The Thrill of Wind
  • The Thrill Of Woke Retailing
  • The Thrill Of Women's Shoes
  • The Thrill of Yarn
  • The Year That Was
  • Those Lying Bastards
  • Those Poor Darling Armed Robbers
  • Those Poor Darling Burglars
  • Those Poor Darling Carjackers
  • Those Poor Darling Fare Dodgers
  • Those Poor Darling Looters
  • Those Poor Darling Muggers
  • Those Poor Darling Paedophiles
  • Those Poor Darling Sex Offenders
  • Those Poor Darling Shoplifters
  • Those Poor Darling Stabby Types
  • Those Poor Darling Thieves
  • Tomorrow’s Products Today
  • Toys
  • Travel
  • Tree Licking
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
  • Unreturnable Crutches
  • Wigs
  • You Can't Afford My Radical Life

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

In which we marvel at the mental contortions of our self-imagined betters.